Wulfath
Wulfath, the Southern Icelands, is one of the islands in the Southern Alliance. Unlike many of the others, it is not the Primes or the Matoran who are its only native residents - instead, the island is also the home to a race of yellow armored, one-eyed warriors known as the Wulfen'Na, and their equally (if not more) intelligent steeds, massive green reptiles known as Tahtroahk. It is also home to the Frostelus of the Alliance, another powerful and dangerous race. The island is located along the north-eastern area of the Alliance, and is the only one to show ice and snow. Only a small percentage of the island along the southwestern coast manages to stay mostly unfrozen for most of the year, and it is mostly made up of coastal plateus followed by flatlands before the mountains, glaciers, and snow drifts to the north. The mountains here are of interest - many of them are highly volcanic, but the snow and ice cover up the brimstone coated earth, and cap over the volcanoes. The presence of the volcanos does lead to a few hotsprings where mosses and lichens and a few Rahi can be found, marking the few life-giving areas of the wastelands. The Wulfen'Na are, for the most part, the peaceful people of the island. Challenging them to honorable combat (but not to death) is the only way to gain their friendship, however, as they view having the strength to uphold your beliefs more important than anything else. As such, they are not associated with the Southern Alliance, but occasionally trade with the Matoran on the island. As with any species, there are exceptions - a few act as mercenaries and the like, and are incredibly dangerous, possessing the strength of the greatest Steltians many times over combined with a Rahi-like ferocity and near invulnerability to any harm, surviving falls of hundreds of feet and still standing. Due to their great endurance, and that of the Tatorahk, the huge Rahi they use as steeds and companions, they often reside amongst the ice drifts in large groups that move from hot spring to hot spring and occasionally come to do trade with the Matoran, who are more adept at farm work than they, in return for the cures and elixirs they are adept at making. The Matoran of the island mostly reside along the southwestern coast along a number of villages and towns, where they scrape out a living despite the harsh environment, and even manage to farm strange flora that grows better in the frozen environments. Most are also talented fishermen, making use of the seaside coasts for food related needs. Most of these Matoran are Ko-Matoran or Ga-Matoran, though all sorts can be found. Infact, many Ko-Matoran villages can be found well past the beginning of the ice, living in seclusion and finding new ways to make their livelihoods. There are also a number of small, tribal groups who reside far to the north away from the rest of civilization, only rarely coming to warmer climates to raid supplies from the other Matoran. However, the Matoran and Wulfen'Na are not the only inhabitants, and they are far from the most dangerous. The coast lines are also home to numerous, warring tribes of Zyglak - and indeed, their constant infighting is one of the few things that has kept the island from being overrun. The small war between Zyglak is also joined by the Frostelus, who fight against them, Matoran, and even the Wulfen'Na to hold control of their territory - and they usually win. Unlike the Zyglak, who make no effort to hide their coastal caves (not that they need to), the Frostelus have kept their home base, wherever it is, hidden from all efforts at discovery. Asking them proves just as useless - even Zyglak prove better conversation partners. Luckily for the Matoran, they do have the help of the Toa Council, who are spread out across the more easily inhabitable areas of the island. Furthermore, the single largest Xankah Order compound in the Alliance can be found here, and from afar appears more like a military base than the home of Toa - indeed, it is the most defensible and fortified location on the island, and offers its cloak of protection to the surrounding villages. The Toa have shown to be the only beings capable of taking on the Frostelus singlehandedly, matching their own double Rhotuka powers and near invulnerability with elemental and mask abilities, and better natural speed. Wulfah has a Governor representing them to the Southern Alliance, but he spends most of his time away from the island, and most of the inhabitants don't even know he exists. For the most part, the inhabitants could care less about what happens with foreign affairs, as long as nothing causes harm to the island. When something bad does happen, however, something equally so often happens to the local representative, who is then replaced by somebody more aligned with the people. The last few Governors learned this the hard way, and one was even executed by a horde of Matoran and, supposedly, Toa. Under the Governor are many noble houses of Matoran who control the largest plots of land covering the landscape, and they are known as Thanes, which is a rough equivalent to knight in other lands. Category:Locations Category:Alliance Islands